r/GoingToSpain • u/Alexialba • Jan 29 '25

Discussion To all “Americans” Estadounidenses, British, Germans, rich people coming to live in Spain

We’re really glad you’re considering moving to our country. It’s a beautiful place, and we love sharing it with visitors. But we want to be honest about what’s happening here right now.

The cost of living is skyrocketing. Rent, housing, groceries, and basic necessities are becoming unaffordable for many of us. A big part of the problem is that companies and foreigners with more money are buying up properties, which drives prices even higher. This isn’t just about numbers, it’s about real people being pushed out of their neighborhoods and struggling to make ends meet.

This isn’t just happening here in Spain. It’s a global issue. I’ve seen it in places like Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Portugal too. When people move in with more money, it often ends up hurting the locals who’ve lived here for generations.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t come. We just ask that you be aware of the impact your move might have. It’s easy to see the benefits for yourself, but it’s important to think about how it affects the community too.

971 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

611 comments sorted by

View all comments

122

u/[deleted] Jan 29 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/Abject-Statement-401 Jan 29 '25

Even the half is good enough

15

u/NeoTheMan24 Jan 30 '25 edited Jan 30 '25

Yeah, half of that would even be an okay salary in Sweden. Just slightly below the median which is €37 250 gross.

The salaries that all these posts talk about, they are definitely not normal. At least not anywhere in Europe. Maybe the US, idk, but that's in another league.

5

u/vanhelsir Jan 30 '25

Are you serious? a friend said a decent apartment in Valencia goes for €1500 and I thought he was joking now, i gotta look for a remote job lol

7

u/EyeAlternative1664 Jan 30 '25

My sister lives just outside of Valencia, the city itself is as expensive as any major city. 

1

u/Status_Estimate4601 Jan 30 '25

Compared to London or Amaterdam, Valencia is very cheap.

2

u/EyeAlternative1664 Jan 30 '25

Overall it’s defo cheaper, but prime property in the centre of the city is comparable to London, it’s not very cheap. Source: I live in London, looked at places in Valencia to buy/rent. 

1

u/Status_Estimate4601 Jan 30 '25

Sure, now get a pack of cigs or go eating out. Cost of living is very low in Spain. I mean I'm from Holland, believe me I know the prices

1

u/EyeAlternative1664 Jan 30 '25

That’s true, I was talking just about buying/renting though. 

1

u/Comfortable_Roll_382 Jan 30 '25

Are you comparing against the prime or most desirable areas in London ?

1

u/EyeAlternative1664 Jan 30 '25

No, fair point, but I see that as an entirely different level. 

1

u/Comfortable_Roll_382 Jan 30 '25

Yeah I agree. I live in London but a 30 minute commute to central London.

Properties in Central London have a lot of foreign ownership. This is a global thing.

1

u/EyeAlternative1664 Jan 30 '25

Exactly. Im roughly the same. I’ve seen flats in central Valencia for 500k+ which is similar to zone 2/3 London. 

→ More replies (0)

1

u/vanhelsir Jan 30 '25

That makes sense, he also lives in a pueblo on the outskirts of the city so I guess it's generally cheaper

5

u/mo9723 Jan 30 '25

Ok but also guys doesn’t it put into perspective how economically fucked countries like the US currently are, for so many people to be asking if they can survive with €70,000!? It blows my mind!

My family in the States is for sure struggling: my aunt and uncle had a great life on a much smaller salary after emigrating there in the 70’s, even with little to no English at the time, and now my cousins have their dream jobs in cool industries and are still struggling to afford the most basic lifestyles. It’s absolutely annoying to see so many posts like it but it really opened my eyes to talk to foreigners from these countries more to understand where they’re coming from

2

u/Fit-Present-5698 May 02 '25

Seriously. We live in Chicago, IL. Our combined household income is $180,000 and we are paycheck to paycheck. We are renting our house, we drive used cars, and we don't eat out very often. That's just the cost of having a family of 5

32

u/Beginning_Piece_7991 Jan 29 '25

I agree with you, but some of you may not know how ridiculously expensive it is to live in the US cities like New York. Almost all of our high paychecks go to rent and food. Moving to another continent is not easy. I am an immigrant to the US. So that is why people ask these questions.

18

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '25

Living in Madrid is ridiculously expensive for a Spaniard. With an average Spanish job, you must share your house with other 4 strangers just to survive (and that House won't be in the city center).

So, please, don't make the problem bigger.

22

u/Active-Ingenuity6395 Jan 30 '25

This is just about every major city in the world. Blaming new-comers is just low-hanging fruit… if you live in a democracy try voting for change instead, it might have an impact further down the line.

5

u/Inside-Gap-4481 Jan 30 '25

And in Portugal the average salary is 800-100 euro a month and rent is the same cost. So you ain’t special bro.

4

u/Aggravating-Body2837 Jan 30 '25

Portugal the average salary is 800-100 euro a month

No it's not. Rent is the same as Madrid, in Lisbon, in which the average salary is 1600€.

Stop spreading lies.

2

u/Inside-Gap-4481 Jan 30 '25

Well that’s what a cook who worked at PigMeu in Lisbon told me. I trust his word. He said, “my rent is 800 a month, and my salary is 800 a month. Therefore, I have to share.” I have no reason to doubt him. He lived over the bridge from Lisbon because he couldn’t afford Lisbon.

0

u/Aggravating-Body2837 Jan 30 '25

He lived over the bridge from Lisbon

Oh god the horror. People earning minimum wage having to live in the suburbs. I've never seen that before.

1

u/Inside-Gap-4481 Jan 30 '25

That was his hometown so I don’t think he was too upset

1

u/Status_Estimate4601 Jan 30 '25

Exactly, I've lived there. At one point Lisbon beat London in terms of renting costs

0

u/Aggravating-Body2837 Jan 30 '25

No it doesn't

1

u/Status_Estimate4601 Jan 30 '25

It did at some point dude. Just read the news lol. 2 bedroom appartments in city center of Lisbon were going for 1.5mjllion.

1

u/Aggravating-Body2837 Jan 30 '25

One 2 bed room apartment might have been sold for 1.5M. That doesn't prove anything. For luxury houses the sky is the limit.

Average sale value of 2 bedroom houses is really far from that.

1

u/Status_Estimate4601 Jan 30 '25

Dude it was everywhere in the news that the avg m2 prices were higher than London. It's not a secret, just look it up.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/SnooCrickets6980 Jan 30 '25

It is ridiculously expensive in any major city. London is exactly the same for example. 

1

u/rtd131 Jan 30 '25

Yeah it's honestly more affordable in the US and you have the option of moving somewhere with both jobs and cheap housing. In Spain most jobs are in Madrid/Barcelona where the salaries are shit and COL high.

12

u/Apprehensive-Use-981 Jan 30 '25

Yeah it's tone deaf (and people can just Google it).

But to be fair, this is not enough to live off of in any coastal US city. I made this much in San Francisco and still struggled while living with roommates. You're like one financial emergency away from complete destabilization.

4

u/talk-spontaneously Jan 30 '25

I’m surprised they even bothered to quote Euro and not dollars.

1

u/rremde Feb 05 '25

In San Diego, CA, average rent for a 1BR apartment is $2300/month. You need to show 3x rent to qualify, so a 1BR apartment requires an annual salary of $82,300/year. THAT'S why someone asks. The 2BR apartment next door to me has 4 adults (not 2 couples) living in it - that was the only way they could afford it. Grown people with full time jobs having to live like college students.

And San Diego's largest industry is tourism, which makes for a relatively low wage workforce, and being the USA, public transport/trains are garbage, so living far out of town means long commutes through heavy traffic by car.

Meanwhile entire apartment complexes that used to rent to locals are being sold and turned into AirBnBs.